Hundreds gathered in the rain at Flood’s Hill in South Orange to march through Cameron Field and up South Orange Avenue on Saturday, June 14, for the “No Kings” protest against authoritarianism.
But as the march took off and the rain came down, the numbers continued to grow. By the time the front of the march had made it to Spiotta Park, protesters were still streaming from Flood’s Hill as local residents continued to join in.
SOMA Action, the local progressive grassroots group that organized the protest, estimated the ultimate crowd size at 1,400. This number reflected what Village Green counted, with a reporter walking the length of the march.
When the march hit South Orange Avenue, car and truck traffic joined in, honking and giving the thumbs up to protesters.
A loud bang sounded out as the march passed under the train trestle at Sloan Street. But the noise didn’t emanate from the protests and didn’t rattle the protesters. Village officials said that the location of the noise – potentially a firecracker – came from the west, possibly near South Orange Middle School.
Erika Malinoski, co-president of SOMA Action, said, “There appear to have been some fire crackers set off by people opposed to our rally (definitely not us) to try to scare people. Our marchers remained calm and peaceful and unintimidated.”
The protest was part of thousands nationwide aimed at countering the narrative of a military parade in Washington DC on “Flag Day” — June 14.
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“We are reclaiming the flag on behalf of all that it represents to our diverse nation in celebration of Immigrants’ rights, Juneteenth, Pride, civil liberties and the rule of law,” a release from SOMA Action stated.
“We’re inviting participants to make their own flags and signs that represent the American values that our country was founded upon: fairness, empathy, rule of law, liberty,” said Malinoski. “Most of all, we’re asking them to peacefully resist the authoritarian actions of the Trump administration and the Republican Party that is enabling him.”
Malinoski said that a small group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators on June 14 “were not with us, they set up their own thing. Our safety marshals successfully deescalated one minor conflict between them and a passersby. We’re very proud of our volunteers who stepped up to help things run smoothly and show that ordinary people can keep each other safe. This is what democracy looks like!”
